


The Escapades of Hawkins Rock, Maine: Volume ll

by homosexualbyers



Series: the hawkins rock verse [2]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Stand By Me (1986), Stranger Things (TV 2016), The Body - Stephen King
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, I'm so hyped to get poly just u wait, Multi, Underage Drinking, polyamorous, sequel babyyyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-07-10 12:33:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15949442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosexualbyers/pseuds/homosexualbyers
Summary: It's been a year and a lot has changed for this once small group of friends. Byler, Lachambers and Bichie are happily together but the end of high school brings questions of where their feelings lay and new arrivals into town bring blasts from the past.





	1. ending.

**Author's Note:**

> sooo here we are with the sequel! if you're just finding this it'll probably be best to read my story 'the escapades of hawkins rock, maine' first then comeback to this! yanno how a series works they follow on from each other!
> 
> Anyways this first part isnt much but i hope you enjoy!

Gordie grabs the collar of Chris’ shirt and pulls his lips against his with more fever than before and in the process is pushed further into the metal counter. Chris slips his tongue into Gordie’s mouth, the both of them savouring the taste. This was very perfect. 

 

They break apart and sit up, Gordie in Chris’ lap. Gordie looks around the school kitchens, their secret hideaway. Gordie knew the lunch lady, Gretta, well and she had been kind enough to let Gordie use the back door for his secret Chris makeout meetings since the start of their relationship. And now everything was out in the open she started letting them both and the rest of the group hang in here whenever they tired of stares in the halls and just needed some alone time. It was probably a health code violation but why would Gordie complain about some alone time with the boy he loves and his friends. 

 

Looking around this room brings back so many memories, of all the laughs, the quick runs to safety, the fair few meltdowns and Richie honestly finding a way to wear every pan, plate and cutlery somewhere on his body. It had been a long great year, better than any of the previous and here Gordie is at the end of the last day at high school feeling a little sad. He never thought he’d miss this place. 

 

He’s about to turn around and ask Bill, who’s sat on his phone a few counters away, where the rest of their friends are when the door is blasted open by a disgruntled Will Byers half carrying a bloody-nosed Richie Tozier into the room. 

 

“Fucksake, Richie, you need to stop doing that!” Will is shouting at him. 

 

He rips out some kitchen roll out of a holder, a little too hard that it rips to pieces, and shoves it up Richie’s noise, also a little too hard and making Richie wince. 

 

“What do I tell you? I can look after myself. You can’t go getting yourself into fights all the time for my benefit.” Will tells him, taking Richie’s hand and applying pressure onto the nose. 

 

Richie mumbles something that sounds like ‘someone needed to put that prick in his place’ but it’s very unlegible. 

 

Will tuts. “And I could’ve done that!” 

 

Bill takes over holding the tissue to Richie’s injury, also clearly ticked off at his boyfriend. 

 

“What the fuck did you do?” He snaps at him. 

 

“Troy said something to me on our way out of Math and this idiot punched him.” Will responded. 

 

Bill shakes his head. “You’ve got to stop starting fights you can’t finish, Rich.” He scolds. “If we were coming back next year you would’ve been on Mrs Gallagher’s shit list you do know that right?” 

 

Richie shrugs and takes Bill’s hands off him. The tissue is completely red now and he screws it into a ball and throws it into the trash. He’s still got a little blood on him but it’s mostly stopped bleeding now. 

 

“It’s the last day and you don’t deserve to get shit from anyone today of all days.” Richie says, his voice wheezing. 

 

Will then smiles lovingly at him. “I appreciate it, Rich, I really do. But I don’t want you going and getting hurt for me, okay?” He says sweetly. 

 

Bill snatches Richie’s hand and pulls him over to the large industrial kitchen sink which he turns on. He forces him onto his knees and shoves his head under the jets of water. Chris, Gordie and Will can’t help but gain a brief moment of joy at the sight. 

 

It’s very brief though because Will then slumps onto the counter beside Gordie and Chris in a stressed out huff.

 

“Are you okay?” Gordie whispers to him, he puts his arm around his friend and squeezes his shoulder for a second. 

 

“Yeah.” Will says, rubbing the corners of his eyes. “It’s just kinda hitting me that this is the last day. Our last time at school, our last time hiding in the kitchen, the last time we’ll all be in Hawkins Rock together. And the last time Richie will get his asskicked sticking up for me.” Will smiles and tears of happy nostalgia gather at the brims of his eyes. 

 

“Still always the sentimental, Byers?” Gordie jokes, putting a caring hand on his friends back. 

 

Will nods. “I guess.” 

 

Chris nudges Will playfully. “Not so fast. This won’t be last time we’ll all be together. There’s still tonight and the whole of summer to go yet.” He says. 

 

Will smiles at him. As their group had gotten bigger Will had grown to love each and every member so dearly, they had become his whole world, and now he felt even more worried about losing them. He and Mike had decided on going to separate colleges in Chicago and of course, he was beyond excited to start this new chapter with his boyfriend and move across the country with him but Bill and Richie were taking a year out and going travelling and Gordie and Chris were studying abroad. And knowing they wouldn’t be there felt weird. This whole summer felt so final. Come September the group that spent every waking moment together would be on opposite parts of the world and Will couldn’t comprehend what that’d be like. He just didn’t like endings. 

 

The last bell rings loud and with a few creeks, telling the last few stragglers to go home so the five friends bid the kitchen a final farewell as they leave through the back door, each earning a splash from Richie’s shaking his soaked wet hair as they depart. 

 

Just as they get outside Will’s tattered blue pickup truck pulls into the tight gap between the dumpsters and they all throw their bags in the back. Mike scooches along the seats to make room for Will to take his place in the driver's seat and kisses him on the cheek as he sits down. The car was an 18th birthday present from his Mom and Jonathan. They’d bought it from the garage in town, Joyce had picked it because it was cheap and she felt safer if Will did happen to crash it would protect him. It was quite old but Will didn’t mind, it had a lot of character. 

 

“Hey, baby.” Mike says. 

 

Will smiles at him and shifts the gear into drive as Bill and Richie squeeze in on the other side and Gordie and Chris get in the back seat which cues Will to pull back out and drive around the side of the building. Bill takes out his iPod and takes a moment to select a song, ‘Starman’ by David Bowie fills the truck. Each boy takes an over dramatised sigh of relief as they cross through the school gates. 

 

“How’s the nose assbreath?” Mike asks Richie. 

 

Richie chortles. “Assbreath, really? That’s the best you’ve got, Frogface?” 

 

Chris, Gordie, Bill and Will snort a laugh.

 

“Rich, you do know we have the same face?” Mike says. 

 

They all start giggling then, relishing in the moment of normality that the two bickering brings. The two could just never seem to get on, that at least hadn’t changed from the start of the year. There was mutual love there though, which had taken a while to come out. 

 

Will pulls into the suburbs that Chris and Bill live in. 

 

“So are we all set for tonight? How're the straight ones, Chrissy boy?” Richie asks, his giddiness showing in his voice. 

 

“‘The straight ones’ have names, Rich. Dustin, Lucas and Teddy know to meet us at Queens at 8.” Chris tells him. 

 

Queens was a nice little gay bar on the edge of town that the friends frequented at. Neither of them were of age but Teddy got fake IDs from some guy he knew and Richie was good at talking his way past the bouncers. They never really drank too much anyways, at least Bill, Gordie and Will didn’t. They had found they weren’t really the type. Although Will thought he’d like to be the type. The friends usually just went for the odd drag show here and there, a few drinks when things got stressful during exam time and for special occasions. They found each others company was good enough. 

 

Gordie then jumps up excitedly. “They may not be so straight after all!” He announces. 

 

Will, Richie and Bill all look at him, wide-eyed with joy through the rearview mirror. When the group hung out with the other boys a common joke was the inconvenience of their straightness and this was, well, it was an interesting development. All at once the three shout questions.

 

“Dustin has got his eye on one of the barmen that works at Queens.” Gordie tells them, happily. 

 

Richie gasps. “Good ol’ Ben Handsome?” He asks. 

 

“The very same.” Gordie says.

 

The smile drops from Bill’s face a little. “Wuh-well, that’s no good. Isn’t he with that other guy that works there? What’s his name… Vern?” 

 

Richie tuts. “Billiam, open your mind! That’s no problem. It’s 2018, all sorts of things can happen! We’re living with a very broad spectrum nowadays.” He tells him, in a faux matter of fact tone. He leans over to eye-roll at Will. 

 

Will finds himself smiling back shyly. Richie still gets him feeling some sort of strange way sometimes. 

 

Bill shakes his head at his boyfriends and kisses him on the lips. The two share a tender moment. 

 

Will tightens his grip on the steering wheel and steps on the pedal towards Bill’s house a little harder. Sometimes he looked at Bill and Richie and he just hated them. Really hated them. And he needed to cut it out. He didn’t have any feelings for either of them, he tried to convince himself. He loved Mike and only Mike, he tried to convince himself. It was a tough job convincing himself. 

  
  



	2. feelings.

Will blinks a few times, the black liquid eyeliner he was applying stings the rims of his eyes and his hands wavers, slipping a black line across his cheek. 

 

“Shit!” He murmurs and he immediately starts hacking away at the mess he made with his fingertips. “Fuck it, I’m just sticking to the pencil.” He shouts to Bill who was on FaceTime on the other side of his room. 

 

He screws the cap on the eyeliner closed and throws it back in the makeup bag then takes off the rest of the eyeliner with a wipe. He takes a breath, preparing himself, then picks up the eyeliner pencil and starts slowly applying it to his under eye. Will had always enjoyed makeup. It made him feel pretty and like he was somewhat interesting, like he was a main character in a movie or a tv personality.  Up until this year he never really experimented with it much, keeping it reserved for Halloween and the acceptable horrors of fake blood and white vampire face paint only. It was with a whole lot of encouragement from Richie that he decided to get a couple basic things and try it out. He got some foundation, a few lipsticks and eyeshadows and some mascara and eyeliner. They were cheap ones he got from the discount store, he just couldn’t imagine asking his parents to buy him makeup, but he was happy with it. And Mike also thought it was  _ really  _ hot and it had really helped extend the boundaries of their relationship in the physical aspects. 

 

Will thought about his love for ‘girls’ things a lot. It made him think of something Gordie had talked about before called nonbinary. Something about that seemed  _ right. _ However he was so clueless about it, he knew there were lots of different terms and pronouns that came with it and he didn’t really know what to think or whether any of them were right for him. For now he just tried to get on with it and not label himself. He was happy enough just experimenting. 

 

He finishes off a thick black line around both his eyes, it’s still messier than he’d like and he hasn’t bothered to try anything fancy like wings but it’ll do. He tops it all off with his favourite glittery red lip gloss which he applies perfectly and pops his lips in the mirror, smiling happily as he does. 

 

Will lays back on his bed and stares at the ceiling and his mind wanders away for a moment. He was still wearing the old band jumper he’d worn to school that day and it wasn’t really the look he was going for. He rolls over and picks up his phone from the bedside table. 

 

“What do I wear?” He asks. 

 

Bill looks away from the TV show he’s watching to furrow his eyebrows together at him. “Why the f-f-f-fuck are you asking me for?” He asks. 

 

Will laughs. “I wasn’t talking to you, stupid!” 

 

With that, there’s a sudden skittering across lament on Bill’s end and Bill’s little brother Georgie shoves his way into frame. Georgie absolutely adored Will! And the feeling was very much mutual. Georgie was the little brother that Will never had. Being the youngest child in his family he was constantly being made the baby and it was nice to be able to big brother Georgie along with Bill. And Georgie and Bill needed someone to fill that void because their parents weren’t much help in the care department. 

 

Georgie considers Will for a second with a pout. He took his self-appointed role as Will’s ‘fashion guru’ very seriously. 

 

“Well, if you’re dressing girly for a night at Queens I’d go with that striped crop top, some shorts and those patterned leggings that we got you last Christmas.” He says, putting his fingertips together under his chin in a very professional manner. 

 

Bill and Will share a smirk. 

 

“Thanks, Gok Wan.” Will says. 

 

“No problemo, Willy-o!” Georgie said, zooming off out of frame again. 

 

Will walks over to his wardrobe and takes out a white t-shirt with rainbow stripes across the front with the bottom cut off which he’d done himself since he was too scared to go into a shop and actually buy a crop top. He holds fabric affectionately, he’d bought this specifically for the first pride event that they’d gone to as a group. It was one of his favourite days. By the end of the day Richie had gotten far too drunk so Will had driven him home and he had gotten very handsy with him which had drove Will absolutely bonkers. Will then takes out a pair of dark red patterned leggings and some shorts and puts them all on. 

 

He goes and gets his phone and shows off the outfit. “What’d you think?” he asks. 

 

There’s skittering again and Georgie slides into the frame. “You look so cute, Will!” he applauds. 

 

Will watches Bill, hoping for his approval. The boy's expression was blank and hard to read. Nerves wrack Will’s brain. 

 

Eventually, Bill smiles lightly. “Yuh-yeah. You look g-g-g-g-g-guh-great. Look, Will, I’ll see you at Queens right? I’ve gotta get ready, Gords and Chris will be here soon.” He says.

 

“Yeah. Bye.” Will nods, his cheeks burn red with embarrassment.

 

“Bye.” Bill hangs up.

 

Will sat on the side of his bed and put his head in his hands. He was getting that feeling about Bill again. It’s slippery and warm right in the centre of his heart and he just wants it to stay put, as it belongs there.

 

Out of the corner of his eye he then spots the shoebox of polaroids on his bedside table. He picks it up and sits on his bed with it in his lap and takes the polaroid of their first day of Senior year out. It looks weird just the three of them, Will himself smiling cheesily and Bill and Gordie looking morbid in the background. They all looked so tiny. And unhappy, so unhappy.

 

He puts back the photo and picks up the one taken last Halloween where there’s now five people squeezed into one tiny polaroid. His Mom had taken this one for them on their front porch so they could fit everyone in. They’re all wearing their couples costumes. 

 

Will is dressed as Robin in the centre with Mike stood behind him dressed as Superboy with his arms wrapped tight around his waist. He draws over the lines of Mike’s face with his fingertip. He was still pinching himself to see if he woke up to see it was all a dream and realised Mike hadn’t actually talked to him that night at the party and he wasn’t really his boyfriend after all. Being with him really was like that, like a never-ending dream. Will felt like chance meetings like theirs the universe had to make the decision to bring them together and he thought that was immensely lucky. 

 

On their right is Gordie and Chris who were dressed as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Chris has his arm around Gordie’s waist who’s snuggling into his chest. Gordie had really come into his own over the last year, he was so much more relaxed than before and happier. Very happy. Like bursting with the stuff. It made Will happy too. 

 

On their left is Bill, who is dressed as the Tenth Doctor, being smothered with kisses by Richie who is dressed as Rose Tyler in a blonde wig, with fake tits and the whole nine yards. Bill is smiling in that special cute dimpled Bill way. Will had always thought that in the world everyone has a match and for him that was Bill. Richie looks totally ridiculous with one of his boobs lopsided and a goofy expression on his face. That was just Richie clear as day. He was so different and it messed Will up. 

 

When he thought about it, and he thought about it a lot, Will could pinpoint the exact moment he started crushing on Bill Denbrough. It was the first day of freshman year, in homeroom, and Will had looked into his clear blue eyes and felt a sense of something very special in his heart, a thing he could only call for the lack of a better word  _ magic.  _ From there it was many little things like the gentle shade of pink his lips were and how perfectly they suited that special Bill smile or times when Bill cared so much that he could see when Will was upset and needed a friend like him without Will even having to utter a word, those were all things that made Will fall a bit in love with him. He wouldn’t ever admit it but there were also times at the quarry when the sun hit Bill’s shirtless slim body just right so that all the little water droplets all over him would shine like crystals and Will couldn’t take his eyes off him. Yeah, Bill was hot. 

 

Richie was… unique, to say the least. He was like no one Will had ever met before. At first Will had found him endearing because of his likeness to Mike but as he got to know Richie he found out he was nothing like Mike and that's okay because he liked who Richie is all the same. He’s childish and a little annoying, of course he was annoying. That’s who Richie is. He’s too loud, he made all these weird noises and bad, quite offensive, voice impressions, and he had no sense of personal space. And he never gave it a rest. But underneath all of that Richie loved people so much, so much that he brought it a little over the top. He had such an interesting heart and mind that could come up with so many brilliant, crazy ideas and go so much further than anyone else. And that was the person Will loved. 

 

There’s a knock on Will’s door and he quickly threw the polaroids back into the box and put it back onto his bedside table. 

 

“Yeah?” He calls through the wood. 

 

Jonathan opens the door a smidge, not coming in case his brother was changing.

 

“Mike’s here. Can he come in?” He says. 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

Mike walks in and stops in the doorway to stare at Will in all his beauty. The boy is wearing a smart shirt and has combed his hair immaculately. He really was a dream. 

 

“You look amazing!” Mike says, a smile tugging at his lips. 

 

Will hops to his feet, goes over to Mike and hugs him tight. 

 

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Wheeler. You do clean up nice.” He says, sweetly and honestly. Mike was beyond perfect. 

 

Will leans forward to kiss him but Mike presents a bouquet of white roses, Will’s favourites, to him. 

 

Will gasps. “Mike… you shouldn’t have.” He says.

 

“Only the best for the best boyfriend in the world.” Mike says. 

 

Will blushes and looks at the roses, guilt in his heart over what he had been thinking about just before Mike came in. 

 

Will looked at other boys and he felt things he feels for Mike and should be reserved for Mike only. The thing is Will did still love Mike. He had had an amazing year with Mike. Mike made him comfortable to be himself and made him feel loved. And this wasn’t the only time he’d been this thoughtful, Will had come into possession of a fair few presents and love letters over the past year. Mike was a piece that Will needed in his life to be happy. And he didn’t deserve to be giving so much love and time to a boy who was falling for other people. Will felt like he was the worst. 

 

Mike took one of the roses and held it up beside Will’s face. 

 

“Ah!” He grins. “ _ So _ pretty!” 

 

Will moves Mike’s hand away. “We need to get going.” He tells him. 

 

Will takes the flowers over to the vase on his windowsill, already filled with dead tulips that Mike had given him last month and takes them out and throws them in the bin and replaces them with the roses. He turns back and sees Mike still stood where he’d left him looking a bit downtrodden and confused. 

 

Will walks back to him and takes his hands. 

 

“Thank you, Mike.” He tells him. 

 

Mike nods. “Don’t mention it.” 

 

Will shakes his head. “No, I need to mention it. I need you to know I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me. You’re so good for me and I- I love you so much. I love you so so much. And I’m sorry I’m just awful at letting you know that.” Will squeezes his hands and softly brushes his lips against one of them.

 

Mike smiles at him. “I understand, Will, it’s nothing. I love you too.” 

 

“No, you don’t. It is something and it means a lot.”

 

Mike hardly ever saw Will get emotional so this was an odd outburst. He knew he was sentimental and he thought about things a lot but he always struggled voicing his emotions. It was something to do with his birth Dad shunning him for being sensitive from a young age. 

 

Mike nods to the door. “We need to get going. Rich will probably eat everything in your kitchen if we leave him alone for too long.”

 

Will grabs his wallet and phone and takes Mike’s hand and they go downstairs together. Richie’s sat at the island in the kitchen opposite Joyce who’s happily watching him devour one of her famous beef lasagnes. 

 

“This is real good, Mrs B! You should be on Masterchef!” Richie mumbles through a mouthful of food. 

 

“Oh Richie, you flatter me too much.” Joyce says. 

 

Richie’s eyes widen when he spots Will. “Wow, you look…” He whispers. 

 

Joyce turns around and looks her son up and down with adoring eyes. 

 

“Oh sweetie, you look lovely.” She says, her tone as genuine, gentle and sweet as it always was when she talked to her boys. She never changed the way she treated Will no matter how he dressed, she never wanted him to feel any different.

 

“We’re going now, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Will says, getting his green Harrington jacket from it’s hanger in the hall. 

 

“Okay, sweetie. Remember you have my number if you need me. Richie, Mike, you boys still have my number right?” She asks hurriedly, looking concerned. 

 

“Yes, we do, Joyce. We’ll call if we need anything.”

 

“And Gordie and Chris they still have my number don’t they?”

 

“I’m sure they do, Mom. We’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry.” 

 

“And you’ve got everything you need in the truck?” 

 

“Yes, me and Jonathan loaded everything in the back when I got home from school.” 

 

After Queens they were camping out in a cornfield past the woods behind their old house, the very same woods Castle Byers was in, which wasn’t really that far. But that didn’t stop Joyce from worrying and almost smothering Will to death. She had almost driven over to them halfway through the night last time they had slept out before Jonathan talked her out of it.

 

Joyce takes ten dollars out of her purse for each of them which Mike tries to politely refuse but he gives up under Joyce’s pleading gaze. She takes Will’s cheeks in both her hands and kisses him on the top of his head, making him grimace. It’s quite a funny sight because Will has been taller than his mom for about 2 years now. 

 

The trio leaves the kitchen and goes to the front door where they wait for Will to pull on his yellow converse. Will’s step Dad, Jim Hopper, comes out of the living room wearing his full Police Officer uniform complete with hat and his gun strapped to his side. He awkwardly nods and smiles at Richie and Mike in turn. Jim and Joyce had been dating for about 3 years now and had got married and moved in together last December. Jim was an even better Dad than Jonathan and Will could’ve asked for. Even though he’s cisgender and straight he always tries his hardest to ally himself with his wife and her two boys by taking them to pride parades and driving Jon and Will to their dates. And it certainly helped that he was the town’s sheriff since if anyone gave either of the brothers any shit he could give them a really good scare in return. 

 

“When you see your sister, please do ask if she’s thinking about ever coming back home.” Hop says to Will. 

 

Will nods. “Sure.” 

 

Hopper’s adopted daughter from before he had met Joyce, Jane, had been staying at her girlfriend’s house for the past two weeks. Jane was Will’s best friend as much as she was his sister. 

 

“Don’t get into too much trouble tonight, I don’t want to have to take any of you boys down to the station.” Hop says in his stern police officer voice whilst smirking at his son. 

 

Will sniggers. “Have you met my friends, Dad? We’ll probably be asleep by midnight.” 

 

Hop wraps his arm around Will’s shoulder. “Now, don’t be that much of a loser, Will.” He chuckles. He loved to mess with his youngest, it was a constant playful rapport between them.

 

Both Joyce and Hop watched their son and his friends board his truck and pull out of the driveway, filled with nerves and a little bit of brutish protectiveness. 

 

*

 

Neon lights spelling out Queens clash against the dark evening sky, it’s reflection glimmers in the rain gathered on the black tarmacked car park. The club is a beacon of freedom and happiness surround by the fields on the outside of Hawkins Rock. Will, Mike and Richie enter the car park together, having ditched Will’s truck in the field around the corner for the evening to wait for them to come rest their buzzed drunk heads.  The closer they get the excitement hits Richie and Will more, the two grab each others hands tight and skip towards the door. One of the bouncers, Vic, steps out of the entrance way at the top of the stairs as he sees them approaching, smiling. 

 

“Hey, my little fairies!” Vic coos as they get to him. He takes both of their hands in greeting briefly. Vic absolutely adored the both of them. 

 

“Hey, Vicster, the party is here!” Richie says. 

 

Will giggles breezily and brings Vic in for a hug. 

 

Henry comes bounding out of the club ready to size up the newcomers and ask for their IDs.

 

“Down boy.” Mike calls from behind them. 

 

Henry instantly relaxes, realising who the group is, and steps to the side and ushers them inside. 

 

The group enter together, right into a heaving dance floor of purple strobe lights and people dressed in extravagant costumes shaking their bodies to ABBA. Will and Richie all ooh simultaneously and rush to go dance over to the cubbyhole up front where their group is sat. 

 

Bill stops the two of them and cocks his eyebrows at his boyfriend. Richie beckons him forward with a finger but he sticks his ground and merely stands to teasingly smile back. Richie takes an imaginary fishing rod out of his pocket and mimes swishing it over his head then slinging it at his boyfriend who jumps and shuffles forward and Richie winds him in. Bill ends up sat comfortably in Richie’s lap as they kiss each other with a passion, like it’d been days since they’d last seen each other when really it had only been that afternoon at school. 

 

Will grits his teeth together secretly then looks away. Lucas, Teddy and Dustin are sat opposite the two of them looking as ill at ease as they always did in the club at the start of the night. They look concerned and terrified of the people grooving on the dance floor, not in a hateful way, don’t worry, but more bewildered.

 

Will considers Dustin more closely, he watches as his stare lingers around the bar, his top lip tightening as he lands on something or  _ someone _ and he hastily shoves one of his stray curls under the brim of his hat. Will knows he really shouldn’t intrude but it’s so damn cute, how couldn’t he? Okay and maybe he did want an excuse to remain outside of eye shot of the Bichie sex show. 

 

Will extends his hand out to Dustin. “Dusty, do you want to go get drinks?” He asks. 

 

Dustin stares at his hand for a moment then smiles wide. “Sure.” 

 

He takes Will’s hand and follows his lead through the dancefloor to the bar, where they dart through the first gap they see right to the front. And there he is. Ben Hanscom, dreamy eyes, cute little full cheeks and fluffy hair. Dustin strikes him a cheesy grin as he walks towards them. 

 

“There’s my favourite little wizard.” Ben says to Will, crossing his arms over the bar and smiling at him. 

 

Will shakes his shoulders in a Ta-Dah sort of way. 

 

“Well, hello my prince charming! Two Vodka redbulls and one beer please.” Will says, nonchalantly. 

 

Ben nods and looks to Dustin who just stares at him, mouth slightly agape now. He’s not even discreet about it, the look on his face says he’s totally into him. 

 

Will nudges him in the arm. “Are you getting anything Dusty?” He asks. 

 

Dustin shakes himself out of it and looks around confused for a moment. 

 

“Can I get a beer?” He gulps. 

 

Will smirks, a mischievous spark glittering in his eyes. As they watch him make their drinks Will devises a plan. From what he knew Vern and Ben had been together for years, or for at least as long as he and the boys had been going to Queens. Of course, breaking them up wasn’t an option, he couldn’t do to them even for Dustin. But who’s to say they weren’t up for a little fun with an extra person. At least that was what Will fantasized about him, Bill and Richie sometimes when he was alone, so he imagined it could be something Dustin would be into too. It might even help Dustin get over this thing he had for Ben. 

 

“Hey, Benny.” Will says. “After we’re done here we’re going to go camp in the field on Warren Street. Do you and Vern fancy joining us when your shifts over?” 

 

Ben smiles then thinks for a moment. Then looks Dustin up and down which has the curly haired boy twitching nervously. 

 

“I’ll have to ask Vern if he’s up for it but I’ll definitely come.” He says, gaze still lingering on Dustin who instantly starts to blush. The two of them lock eyes, gooey sweet awkwardness passing between them. 

 

Will hands him the two beers and twists him around by the shoulders and guides him back through the dancing people in a zig-zag. Dustin stops him at the edge of the dancefloor. 

 

“What the heck was that?” He asks, dinting the plastic as he grips both of the cups. 

 

“What? The more the merrier, right?” Will smirks back at him. 

 

Under the fluorescent purple lights, Dustin’s cheeks glow red.

 

“What did Gordie tell you?” He asks, through bitter tight lips. 

 

“That you’re coming over to our side of the force now, Dusty. Dusty’s got a crush on a boy!” Will chuckles and nudges him with his elbow. 

 

Dustin shakes his head. “I can’t believe him.” He glowers at Gordie giggling as he sits in Chris’ lap across the room. 

 

“He’s a cutie. You two would be so good together.” Will tells him. 

 

Dustin smiles shyly. “You think so?” He asks. 

 

Will nods. “Yeah, for sure. You never know Ben and Vern might be down for some fun later on tonight.” Will says, cocking his eyebrows. 

 

Dustin’s eyes glow at that and when Will walks away he watches him in wonder and smiles. He wanted that more than anything in the world, he just didn’t have the slightest idea how to make it happen. Although with Will and the other boys help it got him giddy with hope. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed that! its shorter that intended but i just got writing about will being gay for bichie and got too carried away and decided to cut the chapter short. i wanted to post something anyways since its been a while
> 
> And i have a question for you guys! how would you guys feel about me doing a side smut series for this universe? it would involve scenes that happened off-page(??) in the first story and also go onto this one too. i have plenty of ideas for other scenes as well! lemme know if thats summat you'd like to read in the comments! i cant promise it will be good lmao i've only ever published one smut story. 
> 
> soo hope you enjoyed this chapter and prepare for hella loads of drama in the next one! feedback and kudos are so appreciated :))


	3. unannounced guests.

Will Byers tilts his head back and Richie places his hand on his neck and places his lips just barely over his opened mouth. Faint white smoke blows from Richie’s mouth into Will’s. 

 

“Now inhale, Little Bit.” He tells him, moving his hand down from Will’s neck and to his shoulder. 

 

Will’s eyes bulge for a second and looks like he’s going to cough but then the soft smoke slowly curls up around his lips and dwindles around his nostrils before floating upwards and disapparating. 

 

“That’s hot.” Richie says, patting the boy's shoulder before scooping his arm around him. 

 

Will giggles. “It felt” He mulls over a world whilst looking at Richie. “strange.” 

 

Richie truly smiles looking down at his friend. He knew without a fact Will Byers is one of the nicest people in the world and felt beyond lucky that he is his best friend. He didn’t think he could ever meet another who was as full of purity and absolute selflessness. It was shocking really how Will, though quiet and shy before you got drinks down him, was able to constantly find it in his heart to be kind to all others when so many didn’t return it. Richie thought he was too nice sometimes. Too nice that someone ought to take advantage of him. Richie made it his job to make sure that never happened despite how much Will insisted he could look after himself. Will probably could look after himself, he was a smart boy and he could pack a punch if he needed to, as Richie had experienced, but it never hurt to make sure. 

 

“You don’t even smoke!” Jane remarked loudly, stepping towards her little brother. 

 

Will shrugs, looking at Richie. “I do when I’m drunk.” 

 

Jane looks between the two boys, a bit flabbergasted. “You are turning my little bro rotten, Tozier!” She says, smacking Richie’s arm. 

 

Richie yelps. “I do no such thing!” 

 

Max walks up behind Jane, her long pale hands resting on her hips, she kisses her on her neck, her wavy red locks skirting over her girlfriend's bare shoulders. 

 

“Babe,” She whispers, her lips still ghosting along Jane’s cheek. “I’ve requested our song.” 

 

Jane sques and tangles her fingers with Max’s and turns to face her. 

 

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love?” 

 

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” 

 

The two clasp each other's hands, jump up and down and squeal together. Jane delicately holds Max’s cheek and stands on her tiptoes to smother her in a kiss. Max runs her fingers over Jane’s space buns, deepening the kiss herself. Richie thought they were as perfect together as perfect can be. Max is the Intimidating Skater Girl **™,** she’s mostly leg, towering over all her friends, Richie wouldn’t dare cross her at all. But deep inside that rockhard exterior, he knows that she has the warmest heart for her friends and her favourite girl and is like a lion ready to leap at any moment's notice for them. If Richie had a sister and if that sister was into girls Max is the kind of girl he’d want her to date. Jane, on the other hand, is sweeter than all the sweetest sweet things in the world, earning herself the title, along with her brother, as the Designated Mom **™** of the group. Her and Will were really into old British rock groups like Bowie and Queen but Jane had taken a much harder approach to it than Will, becoming absorbed in the rocker chick culture of black lipstick and huge leather boots. Richie thought if she got any more piercings she’d be mistaken for a chain link fence. 

 

Around each other, they were bother reduced to little puddles of loved-up cuteness. They couldn’t refrain from tracing each other's lips, wrapping limbs around the other, fondling hair and planting kisses on every bit of bare skin. To anyone single, they were the object of envy.

 

The opening guitar struts of ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ by Queen start to play within the club and the girls started practically sprinting back through the doors and into the flashing dancefloor beyond. 

 

Richie and Will are left alone standing on the rain glistened concrete in the front corner of the bustling club. It takes one look at each other before they clash together, wrapping arms around shoulders and swaying to the music themselves as Richie finished his cigarette. The hue of the alcohol leaves them giggling as they lean into each other's embrace. 

 

“Tonight’s going to be epic.” Richie says, looking over the few cars in the mostly vacant lot. 

 

“Yeah.” Will says, his mind drifts somewhere else for a moment and he watches a Volkswagen pull into the lot. 

 

“You’ve got to come visit me in Chicago next year! The nightlife will be so fucking good there and I’ll know all the hot spots by the time you come.” Will yammers, his tiny hands squeeze around Richie’s shoulder. 

 

“Without a doubt! I won’t be able to keep away from my partner in shitfaced for too long.” Richie says, meeting Will’s crystal brown eyes, his favourite colour. 

 

Will smirks and playfully thumps Richie’s chest. “That’s the spirit!” He says. Will secretly knew the taller boy would keep in touch with him far beyond high school, that’s just the way they were.

 

Will rests his cheek against Richie’s side in a way that had his soft brown hair feathering against Richie’s jawline. Richie uses his other arm to hug Will closer and nestle his head under his chin. This was what Richie loved about their friendship, they could intimately cuddle each other, and had done multiple times, and it wouldn’t become weird or bring strain on either of their relationships. 

 

“Not to sound gay” Will starts. 

 

Richie groans in jest. “Oh, here we go!”

 

Will chuckles. 

 

There’s silence for a second as Will takes a deep breath.

 

“But I love you.” He finishes.

 

“Awh shucks!” Richie jokes. Though he’s grateful Will can’t see the crimson blush forming on his cheeks and the water gathering behind his glasses. 

 

Will shakes his head. “No, I mean it. You’ve been the bestest friend I could ask for this year, Rich.” 

 

Clearing his throat, Richie is about to return his love to his best friend but he spots someone walking towards them. 

 

Someone with a head of spiky ginger hair and wearing a leather jacket stomping along the tarmac under the overhead street lamps looking like she’d stepped straight out of a Molly Ringwald movie. 

 

“No way.” Richie gasps. 

 

He lets Will go and runs towards her. “Bev Marsh, what the fuck are you doing here?!” He yells. 

Richie slams right into her with a bone-crushing hug and lifts her up into a spin as she laughs breathlessly into his ear. He sets her down again but keeps a firm grip on her arms, not taking the chance that she might disappear. 

 

“Wha- What are you doing here?” He asks whilst trying his hardest to take all of her in at once. Bev looked exactly how he remembered since the last time he’d seen her in Derry right down to the brown freckles dotted under her eyeliner smudged eyes. And now she was here, in Hawkins Rock, with him. He couldn’t fathom how it could be even possible. 

 

“I’m here to see my dumbass best friend, what does it look like?” She says in a mocking joking tone, typical of Bev. 

 

“What- You have to meet everyone!” Richie says, still unable to quite wrap his head around it. 

 

He’s about to call Will over to them when he notices someone else walking towards them from behind Bev. He could spot all his curls from a mile off. Richie felt his cheeks turn numb immediately and he stopped smiling, his heart hits the bottom of his stomach. He turns around and runs. 

 

*

 

Bill Denbrough feels beyond alive, letting the rampant beat vibrating from the speakers so loud that he can only think about the now, drive him up and down across the dancefloor. Amongst his friends, he flings his tree-like arms along with his body, a giddy, blissed-out smile plastered across his face. He can’t recall another time that he felt so at peace. 

 

Squeezing between the other Queen’s patrons towards them comes Gordie miraculously holding several shots of mysterious liquid courage between his fingers and not spilling a drop. The group cheers to the fluorescent purple lit heavens at his arrivals, each grabbing a shot and raising their glasses to each other in unison then knocks them back. 

 

Bill contorts into a grimace at the foul sting of vodka in the back of his throat. He shakes it off and continues to bounce as the song switches to a slow guitar strum. Instantly he and Gordie cling to each other, arms around each other's shoulders in a tight drunken grip they bounce together yelling the lyrics into each other’s faces. Their ankles tangle together a couple of time but Gordie catches him and they laugh it off. 

 

Out of the corner of his eye Bill spots a boy wearing a familiar black flower patterned shirt pushing his way through the dancefloor leaving angered profanities in his wake. 

 

Bill tears away from the group and runs towards Richie as quickly as possible in the now fast filling club. Richie spots him and keeps looking forward as he runs straight past him and out a fire exit at the back of the room. 

 

Bill stood frozen. Richie looked utterly terrified _.  _

 

Will charges through the front door and stands on his tippy-toes over the crowd wide-eyed like a meerkat. His eyes find Bill’s and still for a moment then he beckons him over. 

 

Bill pushes his way over to him, linking hands with Gordie, Chris and Mike on the way. 

 

“Have you seen Richie?” Will yells over the music into Bill’s ear.  

 

“He ran out back. Is he okay?” He replies. 

 

Will shrugs and looks backwards. Through the window a trio of teens were lingering around the bottom of the steps staring up at them. 

 

“They showed up and then he just bolted back inside. I’d never seen him so spooked before.” Will tells them. 

 

The five of them step outside to get a better look. 

 

A much smaller boy has joined them since Will had been inside. Standing at the front of the group with a shivering confidence, he waves at them slowly. 

 

“Hey.” He says, his voice hoarse and faltering.

 

“Hey!” Gordie shouts back. He trips a little as he returns with a swinging wave and has to be tugged back from the stairs by Chris. 

 

Behind the new boy the girl Richie was talking to stands in protection of another boy behind her, one with curly hair and nice neatly dressed clothes. Then it clicks in Will’s head. He remembered him from the long nights he’d spent scrolling back on Richie’s Instagram feed. 

 

“Bill, that’s Stan.” Will whispers. “That’s Richie’s ex-boyfriend.” 

 

Bill stiffens up and squints down at Stan. The boy stands with his shoulders curled into himself and holds his hands close to his front behind the girl, clearly not wanting to be seen. 

 

Bill recalls all that Richie had told him of his ex-boyfriend, which hadn’t been much. They’d been best friends since middle school and had always been as close as close can be, Richie said he used to think Stan was the prettiest boy he’d ever know until he met Bill, of course. In high school their relationship started to get rocky, they’d disagree quite a lot but never quite argue. Before Richie left Derry however there had been a Big Ominous Fight that no matter how much Bill pressed him Richie didn’t want to talk about. 

 

“Bill, you should go talk to them. I’ll go find Rich and see what’s going on.” Will tells him, holding his shoulder and shaking it. 

 

Bill nods excessively at his friend. Good, thoughtful Will Byers always pushing him into action. He started to walk down the steps preparing what he was going to say when he got to them, he tried to puff out his chest as he walked and stretched his legs upwards. He would tell this lot to just simply go away, he thought, they had no right to just coming waltzing back into  _ his  _ Richie’s life unannounced. 

 

As he approaches the girl, who he guessed was Bev, meets him with an outstretched hand, just as bold as he felt. Bill looks down at her hand but doesn’t take it. 

 

“Hi,” she smiles. “We’re Richie’s friends from Derry. I’m sorry we didn’t mean to spook him.” 

 

Bill nods, returning a slightly teasing smile. 

 

“I’m Bill. Richie’s boyfriend.” He looks past Bev to Stan as he spoke then back to Bev. her swirling blue eyes were far too nice looking, he didn’t like it. 

 

Her tough exterior falters and she looks Bill up and down. 

 

“Oh, well I’m Bev.” she says, pointing her hand out even more.

 

Bill finally takes her hand in his. Her skin is soft to the touch but she shakes his hand in jagged motion, pulling at his whole arm. Bill backs off. 

 

Stan steps forward now, looking up right at Bill for the first time. 

 

Bill nods to him. “You must be Stan.” 

 

“That I am. Nice to meet you.” he steps in front of Bev, running his hand through his hair as he does pushing his curls away from his eyes. 

 

“You too.” Bill says. And it was. He could see why Richie had dated Stan. Stan was so gentle faced, his brown eyes melted together into hot pools of honey under the glow of the street lamps, his curls twisted together around his cheeks in a angel-like perfection and despite how timid he carried himself under the circumstances his shoulders were broad, packing tight muscles. 

 

“Do you mind telling me what’s going on, Stan?” Bill asked, smiling at the boy and trying to appear inviting. 

 

Stan looked hastily around the car park then back at Bill. 

 

“It’s- it’s a long story really.”  he thinks, looking up at the sky and rolling something around in his head, as if asking the other angels up there for help. “I love Richie. I really do. And I never meant to -” 

 

Richie’s fist cracks against Stan’s chin and he shoves Bill backwards. Clenched hand shaking tears flowing down his red cheeks.

 

“Fuck off, Stan! F-fuck off!” He sobs standing over Stan who had staggered back clutching his now bleeding chin. 

 

“Richie!” Will snaps, pushing his way between them and glaring at the offending boy.

 

Bill tugs Richie’s arms behind his back, he feels the red hot anger shaking through his bones and holds him as tight as he can. But Richie still tries to resist. 

 

“That’s enough, Rich!” Bill shouts. Chris joins him in holding him back. 

 

Bev jumps to Stan’s defence, stretching her neck tall and glaring at her once best friend. 

 

“What the fuck does that solve, Tozier?! Are you gonna punch me too, aye big man?” She yells a him, her shoulders tight and her shoes stomping against the tarmac as the third stranger cradles Stan in his arms behind her. 

 

Henry and Belch are approaching them now, gearing themselves up at the sight of trouble. Henry in particular looks like he’s about to rugby tackle someone. 

 

“We’ve got this, Hen.” Will says, holding his hand out to stop them. “Take Rich out back and get some ice on his hand.” He whispers to Bill. 

 

Bill and Chris take hold of Richie on either side and drag him away, he lulls his head down between them and lets them basically carry him away defeated. 

 

WIll turns back to Bev and smiles. “I’m sorry about this, Bev. Richie isn’t usually like this. Come inside and we’ll take care of Stan’s chin then we can sort this all out properly.” He slowly says with a careful sweetness. 

 

“That’ll solve nothing!” Stan whimpers, still clutching his chin. “It was a bad idea coming here. Let’s go!” He says, he turns back towards the carpark the way they came. 

 

Will gently grabs his arm and the taller boy turns to look at him, he slackens under Will’s kind gaze. “Please, Stan, we’ll solve it I promise. You don’t want to turn your back on him now and have whatever happened haunt you for the rest of your life. You know you don’t.” 

 

Stan joins them again and nods his agreement. The four of them walk back into the club together, Will a lot more sullen then when he’d walked out just minutes before. It appeared the night had taken a long turn for the worse. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u enjoyed this dramatic lil chapter lmao. also full of will byers appreciation. 
> 
> any comments and kudos are sooo damn helpful! <3

**Author's Note:**

> sooo there we have it! hope you liked it! and props to you if you spotted the little hints that there's something deeper there that will feels for bill/richie in the first story! 
> 
> dont hesitate to leave kudos and comments they really help me out!


End file.
